Tackling London’s Knife Crime Surge

CHAPTER 1

1.0 Introduction

The United Kingdom, particularly in cities like London, is currently experiencing a worrying rate of crime and violence. Statistics by Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) (2018a) reveal that in the past one year alone, the criminal justice system in London has been handling 80 cases of violence, 50 of them involving knife stubbing while 10 involving shooting. In fact, CSJ (2018a) further reports that in the past 1 year alone, there have been more than 25000 cases of serious crime cases reported across the 32 boroughs of London. That aside, CSJ (2018b) acknowledge that since 2012, there has been a 50% growth of youth violence in London alone, with a peak of 8,150 individuals being victims of serious crimes in 2017. Nonetheless, in a country that receives more than 19 million visitors in a year, the high figures of violence and homicide might be trivialized and seen as insignificant, however, the fact that there has been a trend of increasing knife and gun crime in the UK, especially in London means that there is a serious need to address the current trend. This research digs deep into the issue of knife crime in the UK and aims to identify various ways through which it can be reduced.

1.1 Background of the Study

In the UK, stories of people stabbing each other and even school pupils carrying a knife to school are familiar and have attracted the attention of both policymakers and the media. For instance, reports by Department of Health (2008) indicate that the issue of youth involved in knife crime is more than just a political issue, and not just a media phenomenon, especially considering the fact that in the past 5 years, the number of youths below the age 18 years involved in knife crime has doubled. As a result, a series of measures such as introducing metal detectors in schools and public places, and stricter sentences for knife crimes have been introduced. But, Department of Health (2008) claims that these measures have not been as effective as expected in reducing knife crime, a phenomenon they attribute to poor understanding of the issue by policymakers. Within the discourse of knife crime, a debate has emerged over offensive and defensive knife carrying. Barlas & Egan (2006) say that in the UK and in other countries such as Australia, people claim to carry weapons for the purpose of protecting themselves and not to cause harm. On other hand, Gliga (2009) observes that most of these people have either been victims before, or have experienced threats with a knife. Besides, according to Williams (2002), most of the people carry knives because they believe that other people in the neighbohood or within the surrounding environment (e.g. schools) carry guns and knives too. Nonetheless, in the UK, it is common to see knife-carrying school children involved with gang violence or excluded from school (Philips & Chamberlian 2006). But, according to Marfleet (2008), the individuals, (whether school pupils or just adults) involved in knife-carrying, often become either victims or perpetrators of knife crime. Hence, it is difficult to distinguish between offensive and defensive knife carrying because whereas an individual may have different motivations for carrying a knife, one occasion could lead to the other. Apart from that, the debate about knife crime in the UK has also been revolving around fear of victimization, when people feel a prolonged fear after receiving threats and of physical aggression. According to Boulton et al (2008), this discourse has majorly been about the young people of age 10 to 15 who engage with their adolescence peers and express fear of victimization. Despite various measures such as the introduction of metal detectors and other policy regulations enacted to address the issue of knife crime in the UK, it is difficult to develop remedies for knife crime without a comprehensive understanding of knife crime in the UK. Yet, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, there has been a paucity of research studies on knife crime in the UK, a phenomenon that this study aims to address. In fact, the only contemporary research work on UK’s knife crime in the public domain is a documentary dubbed “Beyond the Blade”, which is a documentary on knife crime run by Gary Younge. Against this backdrop, the current study aimed to investigate the issue of knife crime and policing in the UK. The study attempted to investigate how the UK’s law enforcement agencies are addressing the issue of knife crime, and why there seems to be no significant milestone achieved in their attempt to reduce knife crime.

1.2 Research Objectives

i. To explore the issue of knife crime and policing in the UK and the challenges encountered by law enforcement agencies in addressing the issue

ii. To identify the risk factors for knife crime in the UK

iii. To explore the impacts of knife crime on the UK’s society

iv. To identify strategies for reducing knife crime in the UK

1.3 Research Questions

i. What are the risk factors for knife crime in the UK?

ii. What are the impacts of knife crime on the UK’s society?

iii. What are the policies strategies implemented to address the issue of knife crime in the UK?

iv. What are the challenges faced by law enforcement agencies in addressing the issue?

1.4 Justification of the Study

Knife crime is a contemporary issue in the UK, especially considering the facts and statistics indicating that more people are falling victims of such crimes in the UK in the past few years. Moreover, the UK’s media has continuously reported cases of knife crime, a phenomenon responded to by a public outcry to address the menace. The UK’s population, especially women and children, are living a fearful life as children as young as 9 years are murdered on cold blood in different parts of the Kingdom. Hence, this study gave a valuable insight into the issue of knife crime in the UK and how it impacts individuals, families, communities and the UK’s society as a whole. Besides, this study is important because it fills the research gap currently existing on the issue of knife crime, which has claimed the lives of many people as highlighted herein statistics. The study is also deemed crucial because it addresses an issue that threatens to put the lives of youths and adolescents, as more are being influenced or being predisposed to knife crime, and end up in jail for such crimes. From an academic standpoint, the study unmasked the issue of knife crime in the UK, thereby educating the general public on its causes, impacts, and strategies to address it.

1.5 The scope of the Study

The study had its focus on knife crime in the UK, its risk factors, as well as challenges experienced by UK law enforcement agencies in addressing the issue. Whereas there has been a belief among pundits that knife crime in the UK is an ethnic issue and a crime only perpetrated by the black community in the UK, several other studies (e.g. Stephen 2009) have demystified this notion and established that the issue of knife crime cuts across all ethnic communities in the UK. Hence, the study did not focus on a specific ethnic community in the UK but rather, took a wide view of all the communities in the UK’s society.

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Implementation of verdicts

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature on UK knife crime is deep and wide in scope. Generally, these pieces of literature give both past and current context of knife crime, both in the UK and in other countries that have had a significant prevalence of knife crime. For instance, Stephen (2009) was interested in evaluating the then context of criminal justice in the UK and how it responded to the issue of knife crimes perpetrated the youth in the UK. Ideally, Stephen’s main argument is that whereas the UK criminal justice system has made a considerable effort in fighting crime, it has done little in addressing various forms of the social malaise of which knife crime emerge as symptomatic. Nonetheless, to make his argument, Stephens begins by stating that it is unrealistic to have a society that is characterised by the unequal worth of all citizens or unequal access to basic needs and still expect the society to have equal obedience to the law. Besides, Stephen argues that it is unlikely that an unequal society will have an equal dispensation of fairness and justice. Hence, it is possible to extrapolate that it is impossible to separate criminal justice and social justice. A possible implication of this piece of literature is that while developing strategies for knife crime, policymakers should give attention to not only the problems that face the youth but also social justice as a significant factor contributing to the problem of knife crime among the youth. Stephen goes ahead to put into context the current generation and how they engage in knife crime. Terming it as ‘the age of the knife’, Stephen begins by saying that the increasing trend of knife crime has become a real problem so much so that it is worth the attention of all stakeholders in the criminal justice system. Indeed, through the writings of Stephen (2009), we are introduced to the fact that tougher measures against knife crime have been introduced in the UK, including section 42(1) of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, the increased term of punishment for knife crimes from a minimum of 2 years to a minimum of 4 years, and the reduction in knife crime punishable age limit from 18 years to 16 years old. Stephen (2009) has also accounted for several other measures employed by the UK government to ensure that knife crime is noticed and punished. For instance, we are informed of increased stop and searches, and the increased financial investments by the UK government on anti-knife crime projects such as the ‘deglamourise’ knives. Apart from the aforementioned interventions, Stephen (2009) has acknowledged the attention given to the issue of knife crime by the academics. For instance, he points out existing research from England and Sweden indicating that most risk factors for youth involvement in knife crime are based on the ‘moral context’ as well as on the society’s permissiveness to crime. In the current study, it will, therefore, be interesting to further evaluate these two factors and their relationship to knife crime. In his subsequent pieces of literature, Stephen takes an interesting turn to evaluate some of the factors related to the actions of the youth that predispose them to knife violence. Firstly, it is acknowledged that the actions of the youth have made a significant contribution to the violence currently experienced in the UK. However, these incidences are related to four main factors that are rarely given attention. The first factor, according to Stephen (2009), is that a majority of youth in the UK are law abiding. Secondly, it is difficult to ensure the problematic nature of knife crime in the UK because there are several pieces of legislature dealing with it, and these measurement problems are accompanied by the problem of defining such crimes, making it difficult to determine the actual extent of the crime (Stephen, 2009). The third factor presented by Stephen (2009) is that whereas knife crime has largely become synonymous with gangs, it is difficult to define what constitutes a gang. The last element of knife crime that is noticeable is the fact that the aftermaths of violent crimes are is highly concentrated among the poor societies, and highly localised in deprived areas where violence is just but a symptom of deeper problems. Indeed, this point is supported by other pieces of literature such as Pitt (2007) who examined the apparently developing gang culture in the UK. To expound, Pitt (2007) narrates that the emergence of violence and increased knife crime can be attributed to the developed drug market in the UK, compounded with the problem of crime victimization, neighbohood destabilization, and disadvantage. The corroboration between Pitt’s insights and Stephen’s insights occur at the point when Pitts states that among the most significant factors related to the social class discrepancy and structural indifference between different groups in the society is evident in unemployment, which is prevalent among major gangs. As such, Pitts (2007) goes ahead to argue that in such neighbourhoods, there is a significant number of cases remaining unreported, but instead, they remain within the community to create repeat and multiple victimisation. Literature by Pitts (2007) also indicates that in such societies, the young people who engage in knife crime are those who have little opportunity to stop offending. Moreover, these gangs lay claim to certain territories in the neighbohood as their own, where they create a climate of fear. Interestingly, this phenomenon was further explored by Kintrea et al (2008) who states that territoriality is a product of deprivation i.e. a lack of opportunity to engage in attractive activities, an expression of identity and a sign of limited aspirations. Hence, from the perspective of Kintrea et al (2008), Stephen et al (2009) and Pitts et al (2007) territorial knife crime is a coping mechanism used by the poor youth as a substitute of deprived excitement and leisure, and an alternative way of associating with people outside their households. These pieces of literature, therefore, reveals the interesting nature of territorialism as an aspect of knife crime that also doubles up as a risk factor for knife carrying and gang violence.

The issues highlighted by Pitt, Stephen, and Kintrea et al have also been discussed in numerous studies. For instance, Nayak (2003) conducted a study among 449 children of age 12 -15 years and the findings revealed that the participants possessed a place-specific and specialist knowledge of the fear of crime and that friendship groups or gangs offered some kind of protection from the perceived dangers of others. These findings agree with the findings of another qualitative study by Turner et al (2006) who conducted 60 interviews and 16 focus group discussions with children of age 8-14 years from deprived communities. According to Turner et al (2006), the participants agreed to have a strong sense of perceived risks among their neighbourhoods and as a result, they employed various strategies to protect themselves, especially by moving around the neighbohood in groups. However, a key element to distinguish from these results is the difference between walking in groups or ganging together in search of safety and ganging together due to gang behaviour. But several other studies have proven that it is not only the fear of crime that contributes to criminal behaviour but also actual exposure to the risk of crime. For example, Deakin (2006) conducted a survey on 2420 children of age 9-16 and found that high victimisation among the sample of physical assault (55%), theft (24%), and sexual assault (22%) was responsible for criminal behaviour among children. Deakin (2006) also found that children in poorer estates were also exposed to higher levels of victimisation. Such research evidence intrigues interest on the risks and fears facing children and the youth in their daily lives, and how such fears contribute to the plight of knife crime in the UK. Moreover, the current study would be interested in evaluating the various strategies employed by the youth to feel safe and secure, and whether holding knives is one of such strategies. One aspect that is related to these strategies is ‘becoming streetwise’ as illustrated by Gaskell (2008); that carrying a knife is one of the methods of becoming streetwise – thereby protecting oneself. While there are several methodological weaknesses in the study by UNICEF (2007), it gives interesting insights of the points discussed above and sheds more light on the environment lived by UK children, its morality and how these factors affect children’s engagement in knife crime. Particularly, UNICEF (2007) reported that children in the UK were among the most unloved children in Western countries. Ideally, it is important to consider these findings as one of the factors that position children in the UK to unfavourable behaviour that might escalate into criminal behaviour. Worryingly, as noted by Stephen (2008), youth from marginalized communities are continually marginalised as reflected in harmful policies and discourses that seem to be continually eroding the rights of children and young people. In fact, similar points were made by the UN Committee of the rights of the Child (UNCRC) to the UK government stating that the government needs to take urgent action against inappropriate characterisation and intolerance of adolescent children in the society (UNCRC, 2008). The reviewed literature leads to an important question that the current study might want to answer: if, as already indicated, that young people are increasingly being fearful, who can they turn to with their fears if the adult population, as already reviewed, do not acknowledge their worth? The study by McClory (2008) may be useful in answering this question – ideally, the author states that young people today exist in a world where the adults no longer trust and nor protect them. Interestingly, this question also finds its place in a qualitative study by Marfleet (2008) which showed how young people carried knives based on the belief that the police could not protect them. In fact, Marfleet (2008) also points out that the police are regarded by young people as unapproachable because of the negative experiences they have encountered with the police. These pieces of scientific evidence reveal that the youth’s engagement into knife crime is a function of many factors, some of them likely to be explored later in this study. But, a point that is clearly worth making, as early as now, is that the mistrust between the police and the youth, characterised by disrespect, is a shame and has two major implications. The first implication is that the state has fundamentally failed to protect the youth. This is not only evident in the way the police reacts to young people but also the perception that the young people hold on how they need to cope with the threat of gangs and violence, violent image presentation and weapon carrying Stephen (2009) – they feel disrespected by the society and individuals as well.

Existing literature reveals that there are several strategies used by the UK authorities to reduce incidences of knife crime and violence. For instance, the critique by Hallsworth & Young (2008) is perhaps useful to review because the authors say that the on-going discourse on gang and youth crime through the media, academics, and politicians made some significant contribution to the suppression of gang violence in the UK, as was experienced in the USA. Interestingly, this argument has been supported by several other studies we explored. For instance, Golding & McClory (2008) support that the discourses created by the media and politicians have instigated various responses by the criminal justice system by implementing various measures including the clarifying and simplifying the legislation, enhancing intelligence and policing, and, above all, ensuring the application of mandatory sentencing. All in all, reviewed literature indicate that some of these initiatives have yielded benefits for example, the Tackling Knives Action Program is said to have enhanced the rate of knife confiscations – especially due to the increased use of stop and search initiative – leading to a reduction in the number of knife-related deaths (BBC 2008b). We can, therefore, extrapolate that there is a role played by the criminal justice system in managing knife crime, despite the fact that there are several interventions (e.g. stop and search; knife amnesty) towards knife crime that may be ineffective, a phenomenon that must be considered when implementing the interventions (Eades et al 2007). Besides, a review of the literature reveals limited evidence on the effectiveness of tougher sentences on knife crime, and therefore, as may be highlighted later in this study, any strategy against knife crime in the UK needs to be part of an all-round framework/strategy that addresses the menace from all perspectives. When we reviewed the literature on the several strategies implemented by the government to tackle knife crime, several of them emerged, most of them being worth noting herein. For example, commentaries by Eades et al (2007) on education as one of the strategies implemented by the government indicates that whereas it has been a popular means of addressing the issue, there are several other approaches that are local-based and effective in combating knife crime of gang territorial behaviour. For instance, we are introduced by Kintrea et al (2008) to several anti-territorial projects implemented by the UK government meant to offer diversionary activities as well as education meant to encourage the youth against violence and territorial behaviour. Literature has also highlighted mediation of as an approach that incorporates safety education to children and young people about strangers, their dangers and how to deal with them in case they begin to show signs of danger (Deakin, 2006). However, further exploration of the literature reveals that based on the reasons why young people prefer to protect themselves, some of these initiatives raise fundamental questions that perhaps should be answered by the current research. For instance, according to Liberty (2008), it is believed that existing sentencing and criminalisation rules and police powers provide the best framework for tackling crime, but would it be useful to evaluate whether the existing policies address the root cause of knife crime? Prematurely, we argue that the ‘gang’ is not the only problem, and therefore developing urban solutions is not the only solution to the problem, but rather part of an entire framework of solutions. Existing literature indicates a discourse on tougher punishments towards young knife crime perpetrators not only on a legal basis but also from a moral perspective. Against this backdrop, Hollingsworth (2008) evaluates the tensions associated with the child as an offender, and as a child – at least as defined in international legislation; as well as the challenges associated with each status at different levels of engagement with the criminal justice system. Another author, Kilkelly (2008) observes the way the complexity surrounding this dual nature of children in the criminal justice context is compounded by the weak nature of international children’s rights in regards to its application and flexibility. However, as Kilkelly argues, these international standards and rules still remain to be important because they help in determining the efficacy of current approaches while encouraging the evaluation of the extent to which the criminal justice approaches are employed on children on a just manner.

CHAPTER 3

3.1 Research Methodology

Strangman & Knowles (2012) define research methodology as the plan or laid out a strategy for conducting a particular study. It entails the plans for conducting the study and how such a plan integrates with the researcher’s philosophy. The section below discusses the philosophy as well as the methodology adopted by the researcher in conducting the current study. Ideally, this chapter seeks to enlighten the reader on the research instruments, sampling methods, and techniques of data collection adopted by the researcher.

3.2 Research Philosophy

Yan (2013) defines research philosophy as the fundamental knowledge held by the researcher and how such knowledge informs their choice of various research methodologies for completing their studies. Also termed as a research paradigm, the current study adopted an interpretivist research philosophy. Nunamaker et al (2017) write that an interpretivist research paradigm evaluates a research phenomenon under investigation by identifying the perception of the people experiencing it. The main aim of the current study is to investigate the issue of knife crime and policy from the people experiencing it, and more importantly, the challenges experienced by policymakers and enforcers as a result of the increasing knife crime in the UK. Hence, the aim is to understand the perception of the police and policymakers (i.e. the politicians) experiencing it. Morales et al (2017) stated that reality is complex and context-dependent. Based on this, the current study argues that understanding the context of knife crime through the people who deal with it (i.e. the police and lawmakers) is monumental in understanding the experiences of UK residents on knife crime.

3.3. Research Approach

A research study can either take the approach of deductive or deductive reasoning. According to Singh (2017), deductive reasoning is an approach whereby the researcher uses more general information to determine a specific point or theory. On the other hand, inductive reasoning, as described by Orngreen & Levinsen (2017), is an approach where the researcher uses specific information to derive general knowledge. While the inductive method is generally quantitative in nature, deductive reasoning is qualitative; and therefore the present study, as will be highlighted by the shortly, took a qualitative approach. As earlier mentioned, the study adopted the interpretive paradigm, which is generally qualitative in nature and enabled the researcher to understand a phenomenon from the perspective of the people experiencing it. By adopting an interpretive paradigm as well as the deductive approach to the study, the researcher was able to understand the issue of knife crime from the perspective and opinions of the police and law makers. This was mainly possible because according to Romaniuk & Nguyen (2017), the interpretive paradigm entails the use of research methods that promote a sustained contact between the researcher and the respondents, interviews, and observations. These methods enabled the researcher to understand the issue of knife crime from the respondent’s perspective. Indeed, this forms the basis of qualitative research methodology because according to Boe et al (2017), qualitative research methodology allows the researcher to adopt a less structured approach towards data collection, creating an environment where the researcher develops a comprehensive understanding of the research context as well as the research question.

3.4 Research Method

A research study can either be quantitative or qualitative. Alase (2017) describes a quantitative research method as a research approach where the researcher tests the research theories and objectives by evaluating the relationship between the variables under investigation. The methods involved in testing such relationships are statistical. However, Crane et al (2017) stipulate that the quantitative approach is ideal for studies that have well-defined hypotheses that require testing. This method is therefore not appropriate for the current study; especially because the study takes an inductive approach. Singh (2017) defines qualitative study as a research method used to evaluate a certain phenomenon or research topic by use of subjective non-statistical data and methods of analysis. The present study intends to explore the issue of knife crime from the perspective of law enforcers and policymakers. This would be associated with a naturalistic inquiry, where there is an in-depth exploration of the participants’ complex experiences. The choice of qualitative method for this study is underpinned by various theoretical perspectives. First, qualitative study leads the researcher to a pathway that enables an effective theory development (Singh, 2017). Besides, according to Strangman & Knowles (2012), the fact that qualitative methods are scientific in nature makes them appropriate for behavioural and social science subjects such as crime and law enforcement; because the method helps in understanding human nature. Through qualitative methods, the researcher can generate important information meant to understand the nature of knife crime, its risk factors, and how such factors interplay to amplify the problem of knife crime in the UK. Last but not certainly least; according to Singh (2017), qualitative methods help eliminate the oversimplification of the realities of knife crime in the city as well as people’s experiences of the same because none of them are written in statistical or number form.

3.5 Data Collection and Analysis

The study adopted both secondary band primary data collection. Strangman & Knowles (2012) define primary data as information that is non-existence and is collected directly from the source. On the other hand, secondary data is information gathered from pre-existing sources such as books and journals. In regards to primary data, the study will relied on interviews as a method of primary data collection. The interviews involved structured open-ended and predetermined questions (see appendix 1), which were asks to a police officer and a parliamentarian conveniently chosen to participate in the 1-hour interview session each. Interview data was recorded and transcribed verbatim; before undertaken through thematic analysis to identify how they can be used to answer the research questions. Specifically, the thematic analysis entailed the process of developing pieces of information codes from the transcribed interviews then grouping those codes to form specific themes that help to answer the research questions (Romaniuk & Nguyen, 2017).

3.6 Ethical Considerations

All the participants authorized their participation in the interviews through an oral consent – process that was approved by the University board of research ethics. Prior to the interviews, the researchers were made to understand the aims and objectives of the study. Besides, the participants’ identity was kept under anonymity, and no personal detail such as name, email address or phone contact were recorded.

CHAPTER FOUR

Results

Member of Parliament (R1)

Why do you think there has been major increase in knife crime and violence?

R1: There has an increased culture of crime and permissiveness in the UK’s society today, with little strategies to address the issue; this in my opinion is the worst scenario for the UK because we cannot continue seeing this culture grow.

2. What do you think is creating a culture of knife crime?-risk factors

The culture is created by a culmination of different factors that may be difficult to inclusively mention here. But some of the issues that have been raised in the past include increased number of youth and young adults involved in drug and substance abuse, an increase in children with unmet needs, poor mental health and general material inequality. Our society has also been affected by an increased younger population who are more predisposed to engage in crime. In my opinion, we need to address such factors from policy and enforcement perspective if we need to win the war against knife crime in the UK.

3. In your experience, do the cuts to police funding and youth services contribute to increase in knife crime and violence?

R1: Yes, in fact, there have been two recent cases of stabbings that kind of sparked the debate on the impact of declined police population could be attributable to the increase in knife crimes. as we have seen earlier, the this debate has been so heated that the conservative cabinet had apparently been divided over the issue, where by the Home Office Ministry demand additional funding while the Prime Minister rejected the claim that knife crimes could be attributable to the decrease in the number of police officers.

I: In your opinion there is a linkage between the budget cuts for the police and and increase in knife crime?

R1: Yes, this is the same thing happening in the health sector where the police are not required to sit with the mentally challenged in the hospital just because that department received budget cuts.

I: So you do not support the austerity initiatives because they affect national security?

R1: Yes, even if austerity measures are at the center of the conservatives’ agenda, it now appears to be driving people towards crime and this affects vulnerable young people who could otherwise be helped by social services. This is true even if some conservative parties members are continuously denying that the budget cuts are attributable to increased crime, despite accepting the fact that there is a shockingly growing rate of violence and crime.

4. Do you think that school exclusion has contributed to this? Is it the result of academies and free schools?

R1: Yes, first, we must acknowledge the fact that most of the cases of knife crime among children in high school are associated with children who have been excluded from school. I think exclusing children from school are a major factor to knife crime because imagines you bare someone who the systems have rejected. They tend to feel that the society has low expectations and therefore try to prove that they also still matter in the society.

I: do you think the exclusions are done in correct ways?

R1: Maybe, because sometimes the schools just exclude the pupils to wash their hands away from pupils who they think have poor grades, Perhaps this explains why some days in the past, mps in the education committee called for the results of excluded pupils. If we have to address crime among pupils, we have to exercise justice in regards to exclusion.

I: Are there other causes of knife crime that add on to school exclusion or are related to exclusions?

R1: Yes, first we must acknowledge that knife crime is not only contributed to by school exclusion, but other factors related to children such as child poverty, rising number of children considered to be needy and rising mentally challenged children. It is when such issues are addressed that we might begin to see a decrease in the number of children involved in knife crime.

I: Is there any tangible evidence presented before the parliament so far that strongly correlates knife crime to school exclusion?

R1: Yes, for sure, lately, we have been concerned with the systems off-rolling, a phenomenon that is characterized by children disappearing from school registers without tangible explanation or without being formally excluded from school, and this could also be a major problem causing an increase in knife crime among the children.

5. What do you think of the government’s approach to this problem? R1: Yes, but there are limits to what can actually be done. First, to the problem of school exclusion, referral units where the students excluded from school are admitted into should safeguard the children from such vulnerabilities including gang activity, abuse and exploitation.

I: Why do you say there are limitations?

R1: The limitations are there because while policy makers can be struggling to address the issue of knife crime with laws and policies, it is impossible to solve the problem without addressing the risk factors associated with our education system. If the vulnerable children are more likely to face school roll-off, then we must fix that from an education perspective before we can actually fix it from a legal perspective. Besides, if the number of children with complex needs is rising, there we should address this from a social perspective before we can actually begin to think of laws addressing children involvement in knife crime because the increasing cases of school exclusion could easily be attributable to the rising number of children with complex needs.

I: Anyway, from a general perspective, what are some of the solutions you might propose?

R1: First, I must say that there is an emergency need for increased funding for the police to address issue of knife crime by facilitating increased police working hours. If we have to tackle this problem from a policy standpoint, the police need the necessary resources to address the issue. as a matter of fact, statistics show that there are today the UK has fewer officers thatn they have ever had since 2003 and this is experienced in the shortage of community support officers, as well as general police staff. I also will not forget the issue of youth centers that have apparently been scarce due to the government’s budget cuts, yet we depend on these centers to rehabilitate excluded children. Surely, there is a need for increased budget allocations to address the issue of knife crime from many fronts.

I: Apart from increased financing for the various agencies responsible for knife crime, is there any other good strategy for addressing the issue?

R1: Yes, Money cannot be the only solution to the problem of knife crime. I do not mean that resources should not be availed but there is a need to see into how additional resources can be combined with other strategies to address the increase in knife crime. for instance, I am highly concerned with the way young people are increasingly being excluded from school yet we know there is a correlation between school exclusion and knife crime. some of these problems should be addressed from their root causes.

I: How? The schools might be facing financial constraints and therefore resort to exclusion as a R1: Strategy to remain financially afloat. We must therefore support these schools with adequate resources to eliminate them from the risk of exclusion. Considering statistics that in the past, the London and West Midlands have been knife crime hotspots for knife crime, yet these areas have also been associated with increasing school exclusions. It is therefore our role as policy makers that we address the issue of knife crime from the perspective of school exclusions, where we do not only demand for additional funding but also call for solutions that address school exclusions.

I: It is now evident that school exclusions are associated with an increase in knife crimes. How can we address this?

R1: Yes, part of the solutions is to think about who is responsible for excluding children from school because part of the problem could be an abuse of power by people holding these responsibilities. It is high time we returned that responsibility back to the local authorities.

6. What do you think should be the societal approach to knife crime? R1: I agree that the society has a role to play in addressing this issue because they are the ones experiencing the menace. First, I think parents should begin to be more responsible with their children especially those with special needs because little or unavailable support to these children contribute to children’s predisposition to crime. This is especially important considering the fact that some parents are forced to keep their children home because the schools cannot provide for their needs. It is therefore important for both parents and schools to collaborate in providing for the needs of children with special needs so as to reduce their predisposition to crime.

Police Officer (R2)

What is your experience of knife crime?

R2: My experience of knife crime is wide and deep in scope. But for sure, I want to say that knife crime is not only just an issue of knives and stabbings, but a collection of different kinds of offenses including the possession and use of knives.

I: So reported knife crimes as just a component of reported crimes involving knives?

R2: Yes, each case varies in the extent to which they actually reflect the issue of knife crime as well as the real levels of what they are reported to be. Hence to understand the real nature of knife crime in London, one has to rely on different sources of information.

I: So in your opinion what is the nature of knife crime in the UK in general?

R2: In simple terms, I think the nature of knife crime in the UK consist of more young people increasingly involved and having more responsibility over the occurrence of such crimes. I am also increasingly concerned with how mental health has been a major contributor to knife crime. Coupled with several other challenges facing children such as poor school environment, peer influence, and increase in unmet needs of children , knife crime is a function of different factors that should be addressed from a multiplicity of approaches.

2. What has been the impact of this in police practice?

R2: The crisis of knife crime in the UK should now be considered by the police, and indeed by anybody else as a national emergency. This is especially true for the case of London because among the recent cases of teenage stabbings reported in the UK, almost half of the cases have been reported in London.

I: So how have the police responded to this?

R2: I might not know much about what the police is currently doing, apart from the national initiatives that are currently ongoing to address the issue. But personally, I feel that the increase attention to knife crime and the increased stop and check activities, however controversial it is, has been an important response by the police. The Home Secretary called on the police, and everybody else to address knife crime like a disease, and I am sure the police has so far responded by taking the matter seriously.

I: Do you think the police response needs to be supported in any way?

R2: Yes, while we continue to demand police to up their game in addressing knife crime, there is also a need to tackle the issue from a social perspective by addressing the social causes of violence because some of these issues cannot be addressed by the police.

3. What are the solutions to this?

R2: From my own standpoint, I think the important role of police in addressing knife crime should be enhanced by providing additional resources to the police and developing better policies that makes it easier for the police to a conduct their job. we also need to address the issue of children needs as well as mental health because they are two major factors contributing to knife crime; at least from my experience.

I: What do you mean by better policies?

R2: Our policies should address certain controversial issues such as the stop and check issue that has been a subject of debate for a long time. We must acknowledge that the more controversial it is, the more difficult it is for the police to implement it. Hence, establishing such policies on the foundation of law and policy gives the police confidence to exercise their roles, at least knowing that they are backed by the law.

4. Do you think the Scottish approach will be effective? Can it be used here in England?

R2: Yes, Scotland has demonstrated its ability to develop a sober approach to the crime by first forming the Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit dedicated to addressing the issue of crime and violence. This makes violence and crime a special attention and provides an opportunity for stakeholders to the security sector to be part of the solution. I think this is a good approach.

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 Discussion & Conclusion

5.1 Introduction

This interview analysis was prepared by the researcher. The following section highlights a summary of the results obtained from the interviews and it presents the attitudes, perceptions and experiences of the interviewees about knife crime. The findings will be discussed thematically so as to provide a clear and sequential presentation of the study findings.

5.2 The Risk Factors for Knife Crime in the UK

The first respondent was asked about why there has been a major increase in knife crime and violence experienced in the UK and a notable response was the fast growing culture of violence and permissiveness unmatched with adequate strategies of addressing the two issues. For instance:

R1: There has been an increased culture of crime and permissiveness in the UK’s society today, with little strategies to address the issue; this in my opinion is the worst scenario for the UK because we cannot continue seeing this culture grow.

When the respondent was probed further, several interesting insights into the risk factors of knife crime were revealed. Particularly, the respondent mentioned that part of the risk factors associated with knife crime in the UK include drug abuse, increased number of children of unmet needs, poor mental health, school exclusion, inequality and drug abuse. The respondent stated that:

R1: “….But some of the issues that have been raised in the past include increased number of children and young adults involved in drug and substance abuse, an increase in children with unmet needs, poor mental health and general material inequality…….”

These responses corroborate with the findings of other studies that may be worth exploring herein. For instance, the role played by drug and substance abuse among the youth – as a risk factors for knife crime has been acknowledged by various researchers. A report by HM Government (2018) recently attributed the increase in crime and violence; including knife crime to an influx in gangs engaged in serious drug dealings, stating that such activities have an indirect and direct contribution to the rise of crime and violence. Besides, the report states categorically that 20% of the homicides that occurred in the UK in 2014/2015, as well as 2016/2017, were involving either suspect of victims of drug dealing. Worryingly too, the report indicates that between the period of 2014 to 2017, there was a 57% increase in homicide victims associated with drug dealers. Literature by Grimshaw & Matt (2018) also reveals that while there has been an overall decline in drug dealership in the UK, certain changes have occurred in the drug market that has contributed to an increase in violence. Such changes are speculated to be an increase in young people involved in the business, new forms of psychoactive substance and an increase in the purity levels of cocaine (Grimshaw & Matt, 2018). It is therefore unequivocal that drug abuse is one of the major risk factors for knife crime and violence in the UK. The respondent’s mentioning of mental health as a major risk factor for the increased crime rate agree with several other studies that have had the same insights. For instance, Seith et al (2010) explored the correlation between mental health and mental behavior, and found a significant relationship – mediated with several other factors such as predisposing individual conditions. In a meta-analysis conducted by Braga (2017), it was found that aggressive behaviors had a stronger association with physical abuse compared to general antisocial behavior. Ardino (2012) has also explored a wide range of evidence linking traumatic experiences and criminal behavior. It is; therefore, easier to conclude that poor mental health is a risk factor for violence in the UK. We explore the respondent’s assertion that general material inequality is a major contribution to knife crime. Indeed, this finding corroborates with the findings of Leyland & Dundas (2010) highlighting that income inequality has a direct and independent effect on crime and violence. While evaluating the relationship between cases of assault-related deaths and area/individual level of deprivation in Scotland, Leyland & Dundas (2010) found a relationship between socio-economic stratification and deaths from sharp weapon assault. Besides, the study found that assaults with sharp objects are significantly higher among people with significant levels of deprivation compared to people living in significantly deprived areas. We, therefore, use existing pieces of research evidence to confirm that socio-economic deprivation is a major contributory factor to crime and violence, and could as well have a significant contribution to increased knife crime in the UK.

Last but not least, we explore the first respondent’s response to school exclusion and how it contributes to knife crime among young adults in the UK. In this regard, we note the respondent’s acknowledgment that school exclusion has been a major contributor to the influx of knife crime in the UK. For instance:

R1: I think excluding children from school is a major factor contributing to knife crime because; imagine you bare someone who the systems have rejected. They tend to feel that the society has low expectations and therefore try to prove that they also still matter in the society.

We can, therefore, extrapolate from these responses that school exclusion, for whatever reason, isolates children and young adults, making them feel as though they are misfits – resorting to violence as a means of gaining their position in the society. This extrapolation agrees with the recent assertions by Richardson (2019) that when students are excluded from school with no adequate support and rehabilitation, they become troubled and resort to violence, a possible cause of increased knife crime in the UK. When the first respondent was further probed, it was revealed that the troubles faced by excluded students are not only caused by the fact that they have been excluded but also by the fact that the teachers do not follow the correct procedure while excluding the students from school. Particularly, the respondent notes that:

R1: “…sometimes the schools just exclude the pupils to wash their hands away from pupils who they think have poor grades, perhaps this explains why some days in the past, MPs in the education committee called for the results of excluded pupils…”

Exclusion has been acknowledged by even the police commissioners as a major cause of increased knife crime, considering the letter that they wrote to Teresa May conveying the same message (Richardson, 2019). It is therefore undeniable that there is a correlation between school exclusion and knife crime in the UK; and as one increases, the other one increases. Other studies have also established a significant correlation between school exclusion and knife crime. For instance, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) categorically linked school exclusion to knife crime in the UK (Stevens & Margo, 2008). The study went ahead to link knife crime to other vulnerabilities affecting children. These are tangible evidence that policymakers should start to be keen on because they tell the real story about knife crime and their root causes. Besides, the number of research conducted on knife crime reveal various common factors associated with knife crime among children including special education needs and family instability – issues that must be addressed to reduce knife crime.

The respondent said that:

R1: “...lately, we have been concerned with the systems off-rolling, a phenomenon that is characterized by children disappearing from school registers without tangible explanation or without being formally excluded from school, and this could also be a major problem causing an increase in knife crime among the children…”

5.3 Impacts of knife crime on the UK’s police practice

The theme of knife crime impacts on the UK’s police practice was specifically revealed by the second respondent, as he was explaining his experience of knife crime in the UK. Particularly, He was keen to note that the issue of knife crime has reached a level that warrants consideration as a national emergency, especially in London where there have been rampant teenage stabbings. Hence, from the respondent’s answers, it is clear that the upward surge of knife crime in the UK has been received with shock by the UK police, and is now considered a matter of emergency across most police departments. For instance:

“…the crisis of knife crime in the UK should now be considered by the police, and indeed by anybody else as a national emergency…”

Within the context of police practice, the rise in knife crime in the UK has sparked further debate on the issue of stop and search powers given to the police. Particularly, the central debate on the issue of stop and search – a strategy meant to address knife crime in the UK, has been on the misuse of police power when exercising the activity, with many commentators claiming that it is disproportionately used on black people (Bradely, 2019). According to O’Connor & Waddell (2015), the concern has been that whereas the government has developed various policies and guidelines bestowing powers to the police to practice certain safety-measures activities, the police service has been left with no guidance on how to implement such policies, most of them left to figure out how to comply with the policies – resulting in abuse and misuse of power. It is interesting to note how the police have responded knife crime upsurge. The first respondent said that whereas he is not aware of all the initiatives currently run by the police against knife crime, there are various on-going national initiatives that are targeted at addressing the issue of knife crime in the UK. However, the respondent was also keen to note at a personal level that there increase in knife crime has contributed to an increase in the controversial stop and search initiative implemented by the police. For instance:

R2“…I feel that the increase attention to knife crime and the increased stop and check activities, however controversial it is, has been an important response by the police…”

Our study has also revealed several other impacts of knife crime in police practice, as well as the barriers experienced by the police in addressing the issue. For instance, the Second respondent noted that whereas police would like to increase their participation in reducing knife crime, they are faced with a lot of financial constraints that act as barriers to their activities. For instance:

R1: “…There is an emergency need for increased funding for the police to address issue of knife crime by facilitating increased police working hours. If we have to tackle this problem from a policy standpoint, the police need the necessary resources to address the issue…”

This assertion corroborates with the views held by the London Assembly (2018) that extra funding is needed to increase fight against night crime.

5.4 Strategies for addressing Knife crime in the UK

Our findings on the strategies implemented by the government and other relevant bodies to address knife crime in the UK reveal that there are several strategies that are implementable, but with certain limitations. The second respondent noted that whereas the UK government has achieved significant milestones in fighting knife crime, there is a need to enhance the quality of services delivered by the various units and institutions meant to rehabilitate excluded children, So that school exclusion is accompanied by effective safeguards meant to prevent excluded children from vulnerabilities such as exploitation, abuse and gang activities that expose them to knife crime. For instance:

R2: “…first, to the problem of school exclusion, referral units where the students excluded from school are admitted into should safeguard the children from such vulnerabilities including gang activity, abuse and exploitation…”

These thoughts are in agreement with the ideas of Nair et al (2011) who pointed out that there should be a consideration to ban the system of off-rolling, so that children do not just disappear from school without any formality. This is because when there’s no formality, it is impossible to trace the children or know what they are currently engaged in, thus exposing them to high predisposition to knife crime (National Crime Agency, 2017).

We realized from the interviews that: strategies for addressing the knife crime problem should not only focus on police practice but also focus on social and educational aspect of the issue. For instance:

R2: “…If the vulnerable children are more likely to face school roll-off, then we must fix that from an education perspective before we can actually fix it from a legal perspective. Besides, if the number of children with complex needs is rising, there we should address this from a social perspective…”

These findings agree with the literature by National Crimes Agency (2017) that school exclusion exposes children to more vulnerability, thereby encouraging them to engage in crime – a phenomenon that requires the full attention of policymakers in the education sector. Besides, the findings agree with the assertions by Nevvile et al (2015) that when children are faced with more unmet needs, they are more predisposed to crime. It is, therefore, necessary to address the issue of knife crime from these two perspectives, apart from tackling the challenges facing the police.

Finally, our findings underscore the strategy of increasing police funding to enhance the fight against knife crime in the UK. Both the first and the second respondent cited increasing financial resources as an important strategy for addressing knife crime in the UK. For instance:

R1: “…there is an emergency need for increased funding for the police to address issue of knife crime by facilitating increased police working hours. If we have to tackle this problem from a policy standpoint, the police need the necessary resources to address the issue…”

R2: “…from my own standpoint, I think the important role of police in addressing knife crime should be enhanced by providing additional resources to the police…”

At least, our study confirm the recently experienced outcry by both the public and stakeholders in the UK regarding the budget cuts on police activities and how it has affected the fight against knife crime. According to NPC Associates (2017), several stakeholders in the UK’s security sector, including Members of Parliament and police officials have addressed the highest office in the Kingdom, The office of the Prime Minister, on the issue of budget cuts and why there needs to be more resources allocated to the Police Department to enhance fight against knife crime. In response, According to the London Assembly (2018), the government allocated additional funds to the police department specifically meant to tackle the issue of knife crime in the UK. This reveals the important nature of resource availability to fight against knife crime, and the role played by financial constraints in barricading fight against knife crime.

5.5 Conclusion

We conclude that Knife crime is a serious security issue in the UK that emanates from a multiplicity of risk factors and require urgent attention. the first objective of the study was to explore the risk factors for knife crime in the UK. it has been found that some of the risk factors of knife crime in the UK include inadequate funding in the police department, school exclusion of young adults, mental illness, drug abuse and general socio-economic inequality. The next objective of the study was to identify the impacts of knife crime on the police practice. in this regard, the study has found that the UK police are currently treating knife crime as a matter of urgency, and have implemented several measures such the stop and search policy to reduce knife crime. We have also found some barriers to the management of knife crime by the police, and one major barrier is financial constraints emanating from budget cuts made by the government. The third objective of the study was to explore the various strategies implemented by the UK government to address the issue of knife crime. In this regards, some of the strategies include increased funding of the police department, establishment of an elaborate and efficient school exclusion system, as well as the improvement of rehabilitation center in preparation for the reception and rehabilitation of excluded children. however, we suggest further research in the area of school exclusion and how various factors associated with the school environment may contribute to knife crime.

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